Williams, Richard d'Alton  (1822 - 1862)

Richard D'Alton Williams was born out of wedlock to Mary Williams and Nicholas Dalton on October 8, 1822 in Dublin. Nicholas Dalton was the second son of Peter Count Dalton the owner of an Grenanstown estate comprised of over 1,300 acres of land near Nenagh in Co. Tipperary  Mary Williams, a native of Westmeath, was a maid in the Dalton household in Dublin. Numerous account have Peter Count Dalton as the father.

When Richard was six years Peter Count Dalton presented Mary with a proposal wherein she and Richard would live at the Grenanstown estate in exchange for silence regarding the circumstances of Richard's birth. Some accounts have it that, as part of the deal, she married James Williams who managed the Grenanstown estate for the Dalton's. There is no credible evidence as to what really transpired; suffice to say that Mary and Richard were provided for and that the deal also provided for Richard's education.   Continue

Wilson, James 'McNally'  (1832 - 1921)

Born in Newry, Co. Down, Ireland in February 1832 James 'McNally' Wilson was came of age during the "Great Hunger " years of 1845 through 1850.  At the age of eighteen he joined the British army using the alias James Wilson. In  1864, while still in the British army, he joined the Fenians. During his remaining time in the army after becoming a Fenian he recruited many of his countrymen to the Fenian cause.

In November of 1865, he deserted the army and went into hiding in anticipation of an impending Fenian uprising.  In early 1866 the safe house in which he was hiding was raided on information provided by an informer. He was arrested, court martialed, sentenced to life imprisonment and transported to a penal colony in Australia.

In 1874 he wrote a letter to John Devoy in America pleading for deliverance for himself and five comrades.  Devoy and Clan na Gael put an elaborate plan into action that became known as the Catalpa rescue. On April 17, 1876 the rescue attempt got underway. After a harrowing pursuit they made good their escape arriving in New York four months later on August 19 to a tumultuous welcome.

Wilson lived in Rhode Island until his death in 1921.  

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